It seems as if pet-napping has become more rampant in Vietnam. The economic motive behind the theft is great. Usually the reward for returning the pet to the the grief stricken family is high, a few month’s salary high. The incentive is there so pet-napping has become an easy way to “earn” money. If your pet ever gets “napped” in Hanoi, here are some of the things you should know and do.

HOW TO INCREASE THE ODDS OF GETTING YOUR PET BACK

1. Don’t bother going to the police. They will be unable to assist you.

2. Quickly post up reward posters around your neighborhood. Include a photo of your pet and in big bold letters, the reward amount.

3. No matter if your pet is spayed/neutered or NOT, state that your pet is “de-sexed”. Many times people steal pets in hopes of breeding them.

4. Show NO tears!!! When you visit the following places, pack your tears away and go with a poker face. The more emotion you show, the more expensive it will be to get your pet back.

5. Post the reward posters in both English and Vietnamese.

PLACES TO LOOK FOR YOUR STOLEN PET

1. Go in the morning to the pet market at the Buoi Market**

2. Take a look inside the pet shops along Hoang Hoa Tham

3. Dong Xuan Market and Hang Da Market often sell pets/ animals

4. There is a market that sells stolen pets on Duong Kim Nguu. You go down the street a ways until you get to the market and then go inside.

**One more thing about the Buoi market, it takes place on days in “4” and “9” according to the soli-lunar calendar (this means on the “4”, “9”, “14”, “19”, “24” and “29”).
The next market will then be on tuesday 26th of April (24 in the lunar calendar).

5. There is a street called Phung Hung near Hoan Kiem Lake, there are also some pet shops there selling kittens and cats.

Do veterinarians take the hippocratic oath? No. But they do take something called the Veterinarian Oath. Veterinarians like Dr. Nghia of Saigon Pet Clinic have taken the following oath: I solemnly swear that I will use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society.I will strive to promote animal health and welfare, relieve animal suffering, protect the health of the public and environment, and advance comparative medical knowledge.I will practise my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics.I will strive continuously to improve my professional knowledge and competence and to maintain the highest professional and ethical standards for myself and the profession.”

ONLY HUMAN

People, please listen up… there are times when a veterinarian cannot save the life of your beloved pet. No matter how much they try, how much they live up to the “Veterinarian’s Oath”, veterinarians often lose their patients. It is part of the natural life death dance. And the fact that veterinarians are mortal… human. The vets I know and have worked with, the ones that truly love animals like Dr. Nghia, a veterinarian in Saigon, are heartbroken after trying everything to save them. Truly devastated. They empathize with their patients and often cry alongside the pet owners.

DID YOU TAKE CARE OF YOUR PET THE BEST YOU COULD?

What’s often unfair is when a patient blames a veterinarian for the loss of their pet, as if the veterinarian purposely ignored “The Oath”. There was a recent case where a pet owner placed full blame on the veterinarian even though the dog had cancer for years and had a visible tumor growth on its side. When asked, “why did you not bring your dog in sooner?”, the answer, “I still wanted to breed the dog!” Where is the responsible pet accountability here? How about being more responsible about the health of your dog or cat? If you take your dog in with Stage 5 cancer, please don’t expect a miracle. Wake up people, if you take better care of your pets and don’t wait until your pet’s on death’s doorstep to seek help then please remember you may be pointing one finger at the vet, but there’s three fingers pointing back at you!

DOG GONE WRONG BEHAVIOR

What I find appalling here in Vietnam is that some pet owners actually demand a large settlement if a veterinarian cannot save the life of their dog or cat. Imagine storming into your vet’s clinic back home with all your family members (minus the pitchforks) and demanding the clinic pay, “or the vet will pay”… seriously??? While I am on the subject of wrongful behavior, these same people demanding a big settlement were the same people bargaining down the dog’s operation as if they were haggling over a bag of mangosteens at Ben Tanh market. So let me get this straight, your dog is not worth the operation but becomes priceless and requires some kind of “wrongful death payment” upon its passing? Incredible!

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

I know Vietnam is still a very young pet culture. The concept of veterinarians is as strange as Heinz ketchup next to the nuoc mam sauce. But, good veterinarians are hard to find in Vietnam. Especially ones trained in small companion animal medicine. So don’t be surprised that a visit to a a top qualified vet in Saigon or Hanoi will cost more than those dingy, sketchy “thầy thuốc thú y” you see next to a pho stand or xe-om repair shop.

SAIGON PET CLINIC

All veterinarians are human, they cannot always save the life of your beloved pet. James Herriot said it best, “I hope to make people realize how totally helpless animals are, how dependent on us, trusting as a child they are, that we will be kind and take care of their needs.. (They) are an obligation put on us, a responsibility we have no right to neglect, nor to violate by cruelty.” Or ignorance!